


A Little Bit Ironic

by runawaymind



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Café, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Movie Night, One Shot, but not really more of brotp, maybe side larry, singer liam, skateboarding zayn, uni - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-26
Updated: 2013-11-26
Packaged: 2018-01-02 16:47:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1059198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runawaymind/pseuds/runawaymind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn's always at the local café with Louis and Harry working right behind the counter. Zayn never really gets distracted, head buried in either of his notebooks, until one mic-night this boy with the brown hair and sparkling brown eyes gives the best performance Zayn's ever seen. He really tries to deny the fact he's quickly falling for this new boy, but Louis, Harry, and Niall aren't exactly helping.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Bit Ironic

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really know how to describe it, that summary makes it seem all strict and confined but basically its my favorite AUs combined from skateboarder/writer/artist Zayn and singing Liam and with a friendship building with all 5 UNI boys. Also cheesily filled with comic book and super hero references and movie nights I actually do happen to like how this little fluff turned out so enjoy !!!

 

  Zayn sets his coffee and bag in front of him on the small table before softly laying the skateboard wheels-up on the ground next to him. He shuffles inside his bag, finding his notebooks and a pencil before finally situating himself comfortably in his seat. He thinks for a bit deciding what notebook he wants to work on: sketchbook or journal. He decides on the sketchbook and opens it up in front of him next to his #2 pencil.  
  
  This was Zayn’s usual routine, going inside the café almost every day to study (and by studying it mostly meant Zayn laying a textbook in front of him and drawing or writing instead). Zayn didn’t really join the crowd and was a bit quiet, which is why he loved the café. Kids were out somewhere else and the place was quiet and not a lot of kids and people talking to bother him from whatever he was doing. He mostly was alone and had his head in a notebook with a pencil in hand as a regular gesture.  
  
  Zayn could probably count his friends on one, maybe two hands. Two of those friends happened to be the ones up at the front of the café, one handing a girl a pastry, the other working the check out.  
  
  “Louis, look, you gotta place the cake in the bag _gently_ otherwise you’re making it fall apart and all crumbly,” Harry says to the boy fumbling around trying to get the slice into the small brown paper bag.  
  
  “Harry, thank you for your advice but I think I’m perfectly capable of putting a piece of bread in a bag,” Louis says back to the boy in his usual sarcastic tone.  
  
  Zayn chuckles at Harry and Louis’s conversation; they always messed around with each other and usually messed around on the job, yet still haven’t gotten fired. Harry cashes the girl out and Zayn hears the girl walk out the door behind him and hears the soft ring of the bells on the door as it opens and closes. Zayn puts his attention back onto the notebook in front of him while adjusting his glasses (He did have contacts, but they were just too annoying and uncomfortable and over the years he’s grown pretty fond of the large black rimmed glasses) and continues to sketch random figures and people on the soft beige pages.  
  
  Zayn starts working on another drawing. He carefully draws the outline of a body and does some shading and erasing, not really drawing anything specific, he usually just draws outlines and when the inspiration came to him, he’d make them look like actual people.  
  
  When Zayn gets into something, he gets so immersed in his work, that he was surprised to hear the door bells open again later and a loud laugh interrupt the silence of the café. He looks up to see two boys, a blonde and brunette, walking into the café; he’s seen them here before he thinks.  
  
  Zayn couldn’t really make out what they were saying, but could just notice the shorter boy trying to hide his laughter and talking to the taller brunette. The two order some food at the front, and it looks like Harry and Louis already know the two boys, laughing and talking with them. Finally the two sit down at a table across the room. Zayn brings his attention back down to his sketch and continues to work it in a bit.  
  
  After about 10 minutes of sketching Zayn notices more and more people are coming into the café. Zayn brings out his phone and checks the time. 7:58. Zayn smiles to himself and knows exactly what all the buzz is about.  
  
  Mic Night was one of the reasons Zayn so greatly enjoyed that Friday night once a month at the place, and the only time he allowed for it to be busy with people. It was also one of the few things that could make Zayn avert his look away from his notebooks.  
  
  Zayn never sang at Mic Night of course, he was much too shy and didn’t really think he had the talent or guts to go up to the front of the room and humiliate himself in front of other kids. Instead, Zayn loved Mic Night because he absolutely loved talents. He always rooted on that one kid who could go up and sing his heart up and was genuinely good at singing. He also enjoyed chuckling to himself at the kids going up only to humiliate themselves and their friends who should’ve stopped them from going.  
  
  So, Zayn continues to half sketch/half watch as Louis makes his way to the front of the room and shuffles out a Microphone from behind a stand. Louis gently taps the microphone and clears his throat before looking around the room of about twenty kids.  
  
  “As you all obviously know, because you’re standing here watching me pull a microphone out, today’s Mic Night here,” Louis starts off, “ basically come up, chose a song, and either sing rubbish or great I haven’t really seen an in-between." The kids watching around the room laugh. "Sooo, who’s gonna be the first?” he asks questioningly.  
  
  A girl across the room calls out and walks up to the stand with the microphone next to her and starts searching for a song. There was a bit of chatter but Zayn mostly hears the one happening closest to him.  
  
  “Liam, come on go up and sing a song!” the blonde hair boy Zayn saw before says.

  
  “Ugh, Niall, this was why you brought me here anyway isn’t it,” the brunette boy groans out.  
  
  It looked like the girl up front had picked a song because she was starting to sing. It was some regular top 50 pop song, and she wasn’t horrible but wasn’t the best.  
  
  Zayn didn’t mean to, but he kind of started to eavesdrop in on the two boys’ conversation.  
  
  “Maybe, but that doesn’t matter, c’mon! You have to give it a go! You did audition for X-Factor that one time,” the blonde, apparently Niall, points out.  
  
  “Ha, yeah, but I was _14_ so that doesn’t really count. And I lost anyway. I don’t really feel like making a mess of myself in front of the room,” the brunette Liam says a bit shyly.  
  
  “Liam, you are getting up on that stand, so help me, and you will sing a song." Niall exclaims with frustration, "Don’t make me drag you up there!” He blurts out the last part for good measure.  
  
  “You know what? Fine, I’ll do it, but just this once because I don’t hate you too much,” Liam scoffs. “I’m not even sure what song I’ll do.”  
  
  Zayn watches as the girl finishes her song and there’s a bit of applause. He sees Liam warily go up to the front of the stand looking for a song. Zayn can’t help but think this would be hilarious. Liam didn’t look like the very creative type, even though he apparently auditioned for X-Factor. Tons of people audition as a joke and are really horrible. And Liam lost X-Factor so it’s not like he’s world famous for that anyway, right?  
  
  Liam finally picks a song and stands up a bit straighter, and takes the mic out of the stand. Liam stands in the spot light awkwardly waiting while the intro starts. Zayn has a small smirk on his face waiting for Liam to embarrass himself until he realizes he recognizes the song. It was actually a song by his favorite band he thought pretty much nobody knew about and was even surprised the karaoke machine had it.  
  
  Zayn grows in anticipation waiting for the lyrics to come in because he knows exactly where they started. Another 3 seconds – 2 - and 1. Liam looks a bit nervous then opens his mouth and starts singing it out. He starts off a bit soft, and is at the front all confined, standing straight with his other hand by his side.  
  
  Zayn leans forward in his seat because, _wow_ , this isn’t what he was expecting at all. Liam was perfectly hitting each note, even the tougher higher ones, all the while looking nervous. The more into the song he got, the more relaxed he became, singing louder and stronger. Zayn couldn’t help but admire the boy, he had on a white t-shirt and dark wash skinny jeans that fitted him rather well, and just a plain batch of white converse. The light reflected off his shorter, slightly gelled quiff just right.   
  
  The whole picture of Liam at the front singing the song so perfectly, maybe even better than the actual band themselves, made him look like an angel. Okay, maybe that was incredibly cheesy, but it was true. Liam was performing at the front like he was in front of a stadium filled with thousands of people. He had one hand just resting on his lower stomach, the other strongly holding up the mic, tilted right towards his face. Zayn could faintly see the outline of Liam’s arms under his shirt from the back of the room, as Liam tightly grips the mic.  
  
  He gets so into the song, swaying to the music and slightly shuffling his feet across the floor. Every time he gets to the chorus, Zayn holds his breath as Liam blows out the words in a voice better than Zayn thinks he’s ever heard before.  Liam closes his eyes and leans his head back a bit as he sings out the last verse loud and clear, scooping the end note just right and ending with a huff as the song ends. He gives the microphone a little flip in his hands before putting it back into the stand, and giving a shaky half smile to the crowd.  
  
  The café bursts into applause as Liam just stands there at the front breathing heavily, breathless from the performance. Zayn seemed to be breathless too as he finds himself standing and clapping for Liam. Harry and Louis walk up to the front where Liam is.

  
  “Liam you literally never once mentioned you could sing, why not? Because _wow, you can sing_ ,” Harry says out loud to partially Liam and partially the crowd.  
  
  “Well I, um, I don’t know I didn’t really think I was that good to be honest,” Liam says a bit shyly, a prominent blush making his way onto his cheeks.  
  
  Zayn doesn’t really pay attention to the rest of the quick conversation, just Louis looking amazed and Harry smiling at him as Liam makes his way from the front of the room and back to his seat.  
  
  Liam glances up a bit and makes eye contact with Zayn for the first time and gives Zayn a smile before sitting back down and, _oh god_ ,right then Zayn feels like an idiot. He practically has his mouth open at a boy he barely knew and was staring at him already and just felt so attracted to this Liam boy right here, right now. Zayn could say being creative and artsy was a turn-on and Liam had that mystery peak of unknown talent.  
  
  For the rest of the night Zayn didn’t really pay attention to the other people going up and making attempts to sing, he had already found that inspiration on who to draw.  
  
-  
  
  Zayn shows up again to the café the next day, Saturday, just like he usually does. Sitting down he pulls out his notebooks and sets down his skateboard while the chime of him opening the door drifts out. Zayn opens up his drawing notebook and decides he wants to work on his drawing of Liam. Only when Zayn presses his pencil to the paper to draw, he looks up expecting to see Liam out there on the stage, but he isn’t. He sighs and leans back, dropping his pencil.  
  
  Zayn didn’t really draw based off real people, usually just thoughts coming to his mind, but he wanted to draw Liam and he wanted to draw him right, which meant having Liam right there in front of him to base off of. Zayn flips to another page to start another drawing but he surprisingly can’t bring himself to do it. Though Zayn could feel that wasn’t the only reason he wants Liam there.  
  
  Zayn absentmindedly lets his mind drift off while twirling his pencil around his fingers. He finds himself thinking about Liam again and how for the past 16 hours he couldn’t exactly get this guy off his mind.  
  
  Back at the café counter were Louis and Harry just sitting there casually chatting and looking around, until they notice something a bit off. Anyone who frequently went to the café would know that Zayn always had his head buried in a notebook, not stopping for anything really, just like Mic Night. Except right now Zayn was staring off into the distance, pencil not touching paper, but spinning in the air. He also has a small smile curved onto his face, and he was thinking about something and oh Louis and Harry would love to find out what.  
  
  The two exchange knowing looks and walk out from behind the counter (the cafe at the moment was rather quiet and only contained an amount of people you could count on one hand). They each grab chairs and lazily slip down into them on either side of Zayn.

  
  “Hello Zayn, what are you up to?” Harry says as nonchalantly as he can.  
  
  “Um, not much,” Zayn snaps back into reality and fixes himself in his seat quickly, nearly falling off.  
  
  “Well that’s the thing, your usually actually always up to something in those notebooks of yours. Instead you seem to be daydreaming about something because you have this smug little look on your face,” Louis retorts and Harry tries to resist the urge to laugh as Zayn has a look of embarrassment on his face.  
  
  “Soo, Zayn what has your mind so off topic? Must be something pretty great,” Harry says. He looks towards Louis to continue their cooing but he sees Louis gazing down at Zayn’s opened notebook with a mix of a surprised ‘o’ and smirk on his face. Harry follows his gaze and can’t help but do the same. They don’t know how they missed it but open on the table is Zayn’s notebook with a vague drawing but unmistakably it was Liam.  
  
  Zayn doesn’t notice what’s happening until he sees Louis reaching out to grab his notebook and that’s when he notices he left it open to the drawing of Liam. Not like Zayn’s cheeks were already red enough, but he could feel himself definitely blushing. He quickly snatches the notebook off the table and slams it shut before holding it close to his chest.  
  
  Harry is the first to speak in the awkward silence and looks, “Was that… Liam?”  
  
  “What? That guy that sang last night? Haha no of course not,” Zayn says, knowing Louis and Harry could see straight through the bad lie, but hey, it was worth a shot.

  
  “Well actually Harry and I are good friends of Liam and have seen his face more than a couple times and I’m pretty sure that was Liam”, Louis speaks out with a laugh.  
  
  Zayn’s eyes get even wider, “Oh god, you actually know him, please don’t tell him! That’d be horribly embarrassing. For Christ’s sake, I’m drawing some boy I just watched sing last night! That’s beyond creepy.”  
  
  The two café workers sit in amusement at Zayn. ”Ok we won’t I promise,” Louis says for the both of them. “But I do have an idea.” Zayn sits up right wondering what ever Louis could possibly do now. “So we both have tonight off,” Louis gestures between Harry and himself, “so what about a little movie night? You can come over to our dorm and hang out tonight, yeah?”  
  
  Zayn nods, remembering the two boys were roommates at Zayn’s university as well. The idea sounded good to Zayn, but knowing Louis he raises an eyebrow waiting for the catch, “And?”  
  
  “ _And_ I’ll invite Liam and of course Niall. They’re both great friends of ours and you would love them, well you already do love one of them at least,” Louis says with a mocking wink.  
  
  Zayn groans and automatically opens up his mouth, “I think I’ll have to pass on that one.” Though Zayn has to admit it would be fun to actually get to meet Liam and Niall too, but Louis would probably pull some insane prank or let something slip just to embarrass him.  
  
  “Awh why not,” Harry puts on puppy eyes letting his green eyes grow big and his lip quiver out. “Do you not like us?” he says sarcastically.  
  
  “No, I just don’t trust you two.”  
  
  “C’mon ok we promise we won’t do anything!”  
  
  “Oh really?”  
  
  “We swear ok, it’ll just be a fun date, I mean hang out, for everyone!”  
  
  “Again, the answer is no.”  
  
  Frustrated, Louis sits thinking, because Louis could always get Zayn on board, and he knew he could get Zayn on this one. A mischievous look grows on his face as he leans back and knows what to say, “Fine, guess I might just accidentally let it slip what’s in that pretty brown notebook of yours.”  
  
  Zayn sits forward with utter sigh being let out,” You wouldn’t,” though the look on Louis’ face says differently. Harry and Louis sit back, knowing their work was done, and the third boy gives in with defeat. “Fine, okay, I’ll go to your dumb movie thing.”  
  
  Harry and Louis give each other a high five as they watch Zayn shove his notebook - he still had pressed against his chest - into his bag. He sits up and throws his bag over his shoulder and picks up his skateboard, and starts to make his way to the door. Zayn loved those two guys, they were his best friends, but God, did they know how to get on his nerves. And he was going to spend enough time with them anyway tonight.  
  
  “Oh, and be there by 8!” the two boys call out to Zayn as he makes his way towards the door. He turns around smiling and shaking his head, he has to admit they could make him laugh no matter how frustrated he was.  
  
  “Don’t do anything stupid guys, ok!” He yells back at them while pointing between the two of them. He sees them give a quick nod as he opens the clear door by walking backwards into it. Turning around, he walks out of the café and tosses his board on the ground to head home, the bells on the door echoing behind.

-

  Zayn skates across campus until he reaches Lou and Harry’s dorm building. While walking through the outdoor halls, he pulls out his phone to check the time again: Just 5 minutes before 8. He steps off his skateboard quickly, and steps on one end to launch the black board up a bit, just in time for him to skillfully catch it (A trick Zayn has mastered over the years and can do pretty much effortlessly).

  He adjusts his glasses and shirt before knocking on the door. Before he can even knock a third time, the door’s open and he’s met with an over-cheerful Louis.

  “Zayn!” he calls out before ushering him inside. Harry and Louis’ dorm has the exact same lay out as Zayn’s. Just as to where Zayn has an empty bed - due to the fact he somehow doesn’t have a roommate – and organized desks and shelves, the two boys’ dorm is messy and crowded, filled with mismatched furniture. Though, the place does have a roomy and comfortable feeling that accompanies it and Zayn can’t help but love it.

  Zayn walks in to see Harry sprawled on a mini couch he managed to tuck into the already crowded room. “Hey Zayn!” he calls out before untangling his legs off from the arm of the couch and onto the floor.  “So Liam texted me and he and Niall should be here any minute, they room together too, you know.”

  Zayn at first just nods before having the statement actually sink into his mind. Liam was going to be here. The real Liam, not the one just in his thoughts. Harry must’ve seen Zayn’s alarm because he laughs, "Oh my god, you’re worried, aren’t you! He and Niall are great- I promise,” he says calmly. He looks at Zayn for a few seconds like he’s trying to figure out a puzzle, before the silence is interrupted by the doorbell.

  “I’ve got it!” Louis yells from the front and Liam hears the front door open and close before he finally builds up the courage to turn around.

  “I don’t think you guys have really met, Liam, Niall, this is Zayn. Zayn, this is Liam and Niall,” Louis says while walking with the two other boys toward Harry and Zayn. Zayn gives a small wave to the two because he can’t trust his mouth right now. Being himself, he’d probably say something dumb like, “ _Wow you’re gorgeous_ ” to Liam because that’s exactly what he’s thinking right now.

  “Hey, you’re the kid from my English class, right?” Liam asks to Zayn.

  It takes Zayn a second to shift his attention from the boy in front of him, to what the boy in front of him is actually saying. He’s embarrassed he hasn’t realized it before but Zayn felt like that sounded right, his English class was pretty full and he kind of kept to himself so it wouldn’t have been ridiculous if he forgot Liam was in his class, “Um yeah, I think so."

  Liam nods and Louis leads everyone over to the couch before anyone else can say anything. He plops down in between Harry and Zayn on the couch, Niall and Liam comfortably sitting in front of everyone on the floor. “So the biggest question of tonight is: what movie should we watch?”

  Zayn was about to suggest something when he hears someone else speak up before him, “The Dark Night Rises!”

  Zayn looks down to match the excited voice to none other than Liam. “No way! That’s one of my favorite movies, I could watch DC and Marvel movies all day if I had the time! I love the whole Batman plot, from The Joker and Bane and even the city of Gotham turning against him, it’s an amazing story line,” Zayn finds himself rambling on. He immediately regrets it because just being around Liam for the past minute has made him incredibly nervous and feels he probably should just stop talking for the rest of the night.

   Liam turns around to face Zayn,”Wow same, really! I just get so immersed in these people’s little words. I’ll even read the comics sometimes when I have the time. I kind of have one of those nerdy collections you see in sterotypes.”

  It was completely a coincidence that Zayn’s eyes might’ve lingered on Liam’s lips a bit longer than they needed to. Liam just spoke amazingly when he suddenly turned passionate about something, his eyes crinkling up at the corners and an amazing smile that showed through his accentuated words. Liam even noticed the slight awkwardness in his voice while Liam admits his little geeky-ness “I read them too! I’ve collected a good amount of comics over the years and I still have them under my bed in my dorm if I ever get bored.”

  Liam smiles and opens his mouth to answer, but is interrupted when the lights turn off in the room, the only light now coming from the TV facing the couch. Harry sits back down after apparently already having put The Dark Night Rises into the DVD player.

  “Oh stop flirting you two, the movie’s in,” Harry calls out as a joke and Zayn feels blood rush to his cheeks and can only thank the dark lighting for hiding the act. A laugh comes from Niall below and Zayn brings back his attention to Liam on the ground and the two lock eyes for a moment just looking at each other before Liam turns around to watch the previews. Zayn isn’t sure but he thinks he noticed a blush on Liam’s cheeks and doesn’t think he still wants the dark lighting.

  The previews pass in silence and the actual movie opening scene starts up. Zayn is calmly watching when he hears whisper’s below him and notices someone is quoting Bane’s first line (The villain in The Dark Night Rises, obviously common knowledge to Zayn and Liam). Zayn sees Liam’s lips faintly moving in the dim TV light and smiles to himself at the small but very geeky act.  Knowing the movie by heart, Zayn joins in and finishes the quote. Liam looks around until he meets Zayn’s eyes, and for another time tonight, the two share a silent, but meaningful smile at each other. For the rest of the movie, the two continue to occasionally quote the more dramatic parts of the movie, nobody daring to stop them.

  The movie passes by quickly until it has Robin walking onto a platform and rising out of the water into darkness. The title shows in bold before the actual credits and Liam and Zayn end up humming the end credit instrumental together as Harry get’s up and flicks the lights back on.

  “You guys are obsessed,” Niall says with a laugh looking at both Liam and Zayn.

  “Every time one of them has to suggest some super hero movie then ends up adding their own sound effects,” Louis retorts.

  Liam looks at Zayn and lets out a laugh, "Hey! It’s an amazing movie,” he says with a yawn.

  Like a ripple, the whole room is in yawns and Niall speaks up ,”This was nice, but I’m super tired guys. I think I’m gonna head back to the room and sleep, how bout you Liam?” he glances at his roommate.

  Liam hesitantly looks at the other boys. Zayn’s probably imagining it but he thinks, or at least hopes, Liam had a different look on his face while looking at Zayn. Liam lets out a small sigh. "Yeah, I probably should get some sleep too, night guys!” he says while following Niall to the door. The two give a wave and goodbyes to the three boys left sitting on the couch, and just like that, the sound of the door shutting echoes through the room.

  The three just sit quietly, Harry and Louis maybe sitting a bit closer than they needed to, until Louis speaks up, “So you really like him don’t you? Even with such a short time, I know how you look at a crush, and you definitely look at Liam like that.”

  Not knowing how to reply, because Zayn knows it’s the truth but doesn’t want to give in, he throws a pillow at the two boys,”I hate you guys,” he says jokingly.

  “No you don’t! We're too irresistible,” Louis puffs out.

   Rolling his eyes Zayn uses the remote to switch to cable TV mode and they all watch TV for the next hour or so until Zayn finally decides to go home. After saying goodbye, he closes the door behind him and sets his bag over his shoulder, skateboard on the cement, and rides back to his dorm building. Zayn shuffles in his bag for his key and opens the door, thankful for not having a roommate to disturb him. He sets his skateboard by the door and his bag on his desk and shuts the door behind him with his foot. He looks through and grabs his writing notebook out of his bag, before finally laying down onto his own puffy bunk bed. He spends the rest of the night writing about a cute, geeky brown hair and brown eyes boy, and somewhere in between falls asleep.

-

  Monday passes by and this time Zayn makes sure to keep note of that Payne boy on the opposite side of the lecture hall. He finds himself paying more attention to the way Liam's hair is down today and sits on his head as a highlighted brown mat of hair, and Zayn finds it undeniably adorable, instead of the actual English lecture. He occasionally locks eyes with Liam, something that seems to be happening more and more lately.   
  
  By the end of the day, Zayn's packing his bag from his last class before making his way back to his dorm. He does a bit of homework in the empty room before deciding to make his way to the café. Before leaving he finds himself going to the bathroom to fix himself more, and decides to even grab the musty tube of gel from the cabinet, and puts his hair in a bit of a quiff. Zayn mentally curses himself for trying to get all neat just to go to a café. He can't push the thought out of his head that he's actually trying to impress Liam - if Liam's even at the café or happens to show up in the first place.  
  
  After skating his way from his dorm he opens the transparent café doors and settles himself down to his usual, familiar table. Zayn gets out his writing notebook and a pencil and attempts to continue writing about a boy (Not about Liam of course, no that'd be weird. The fact that the boy he was writing about was an amazing singer and had brown hair and brown eyes was completely coincidental.) Zayn has this feeling in his stomach and finds himself jumping every time he hears someone enter the room, and a bit of disappointment. Zayn tries hard to deny that he's waiting for a specific person to walk in. Letting out a sigh, he decides, for once, to actually do homework right now in the café instead of cramming it later on.

  After reaching and grabbing a light textbook from his bag he hears the doors open and close and looks up from his bag to see Niall walking in. Zayn makes eye contact with Niall and they both smile at each other while Niall makes his way towards the counter to Louis and Harry to order something. Some people actually came to the café for the food unlike Zayn who usually doesn’t really buy anything but just continues to have his head buried in a notebook, nobody bothering to say anything.   
  
  Zayn tries not to act surprised when Niall pushes a chair out from under the table to affiliate himself in it. 

  "Hey," Niall starts out, obviously trying to make conversation. "What's up?"  
  
  "Um, not much just trying to finish some homework," Zayn says a bit awkwardly.  
  
 "Yeah, I should probably work on mine but not really in the mood right now," Niall scratches the back of his head ,"Hey, that movie night last Saturday was pretty fun, we should all hang out another time, yeah?"  
  
  Zayn smiles at the memory," Yeah that was great, and next time I'll try not to annoyingly talk through the movie."  
  
  Niall spins the coffee cup in his hand before taking a sip,"Yeah, you and Liam had that little connection. Basically the same person from what I’ve seen - both of you seem obsessed with comics, and superheroes and all that geeky stuff. Also loves the arts, mostly singing though, he's pretty good at it too actually!"  
  
  Zayn contemplates whether he should mention he was there at Mic Night last Friday but the words come out of his mouth before he even thinks," Yeah I saw him last Friday over here! He really is amazing at it, he hit all those notes perfectly really, looked great up on stage, almost like he’s made to be performing. Great taste of music too!”  
  
  Niall bends his head down and shakes his head chuckling while Zayn mentally slaps himself for maybe elaborating a bit too much once again. "Huh, something about you two, mentioning each other and going on some intense compliment." Zayn sits confused on the other side of the table raising an eyebrow, clearly confused. "Oh c'mon, are you just as oblivious as him too? Since last Saturday Liam will bring up a little detail about you, _’Oh my god did you see that? Zayn likes batman too, and he's so nice, Zayn Zayn Zayn_.’ He's almost acting like he has a middle school crush on you or something."  
  
  Zayn, this time, is the one looking down, trying to contain a mix of a blush and smile all the meanwhile in disbelief ," Really? Are you sure?"  
  
  Niall nods back at him," 'Course, I’m his roommate, the most convenient person he has to rant off too. It's kinda cute yet annoying at the same time.”  
  
  Zayn doesn't really know what to say anymore because thoughts are scrambling around in his head _'Liam was talking about me?’_    
  
  Niall tips the coffee cup all the way to his mouth, emptying out the last drops. He gestures his head towards Zayn’s textbooks, “I have work I should probably get started on and you have your stuff too, I guess I'll see you later Zayn," he says matter of factly and pushes his chair in and throws away the empty coffee cup before making his way out.   
  
  Zayn tries working on the rest of his homework but it’s a bit distracting when you have words repeating in your head _"Zayn Zayn Zayn, Middle School crush"._    
  
-  
  
  Zayn's Tuesday schedules are different; he doesn't have English class today. He always takes this time as always to visit his second home, the café. He quickly makes his way to the familiar building before walking into the quiet shop. Louis and Harry aren't working at the counters due to being in class; instead it's two other girls taking the other shift.   
  
  Before he can even place his bag on the table, the ring of the café doors opening have Zayn nudging his head to the side and he meets brown eyes looking straight at him.   
  
  Liam gives him a subtle wave before ordering something at the front. Zayn just sits and feels his heart beat a bit faster in the presence of the other boy. He watches Liam shuffle for his wallet in his back pocket before finally paying for his drink. Zayn notices one of the girls eyes linger all over Liam much too longer than necessary while handing over the cup. Zayn feels something... Is that, _jealousy_? Zayn shrugs it off because by now Liam’s making his way straight towards his table.   
  
  "Hi," Zayn finds himself being the first to say actual words as Liam situates himself across the table, a déjà vu of Niall yesterday.   
  
  "Hey," Liam says taking a sip of what seems to just be a regular Mocha. "I always have this period off today, well, of course you do too because we have the same class haha," Liam says with a hint of shyness. "Anyway I decided I'd change things up a bit today and instead of the usual library I thought I'd try it out here, if that's alright?" He says nodding at Zayn.  
  
  "Yup, of course!" Zayn says a bit cheerfully and he remembers what he was doing before Liam came in and he's picking up his notebooks to put back in his bag, when Liam notices.  
  
  "What're those?" Liam asks curiously at Zayn.  
  
  Zayn feels a bit nervous answering knowing the details of what's inside those notebooks and how a quick glance inside could show some lazy descriptions about the boy sitting in front of him. "Uh, those are my notebooks, I have one for drawing and sketching, the other’s for writing."  
  
  Liam nods his head and smiles, "That's really cool! Whenever I attempt to draw it basically comes out looking like a kindergarten class project."  
  
  Zayn smiles at him, "Hey, I bet it'd be the best project in the class, I’d even hang it up on my fridge."  
  
  Liam laughs a little at that - wait scratch that - it's more of an adorable soft giggle that Zayn already decides he's in love with. Liam's eyes crinkle up at the corners and has this big smile and Zayn's pretty sure it could turn any bad day into the highlight of the week.  
  
  Zayn doesn't put the notebooks back into his bag but instead gets caught up in conversation with Liam. Liam keeps asking him questions and keeps moving the conversation. And when Liam asks about his life before college and how he got there, Zayn answers, thinking this stuff must be pretty boring, but Liam seems to have an unfeigned interest in everything Zayn has to say.   
  
  Zayn tells about his life back home living with his sisters and his mom, how he hopes to be an English major and always wanting to become an English professor. Liam talks about studying to become a pediatrician and how he wants to work with kids and still be in the medical field. Zayn smiles as this, thinking Liam would be perfect for the job because he was so kind and happy, and by the conversation they were having, rather smart.   
  
  Zayn has his head in his hands and was curiously listening to Liam explain about having sisters back home too - when he notices the clock on the wall behind Liam and he sits up quickly.  
  
  "What?" Liam says, noticing Zayn's composure.   
  
  "My next class starts in 10 minutes," Zayn says hurriedly, already putting his notebooks that were still on the table, down onto his chair so he could slip the rest of his things into his bag.  
  
  "Oh wow mine too, but we still have a little time left," Liam says almost making it sound like a question and a plead to stay.  
  
"Yeah we do, I'm sorry - it's just, my next class is Art - which is across campus," Zayn says in parts while standing up and finishing packing up his things and raises his bag across his shoulders and fixes the straps. “My professor would kill me if I’m late. Trust me I _really_ wish I could stay and talk to you, I really enjoy it,” Zayn starts saying with a half smile ,”but I’ve really got to go. But talk to me later, okay?”

  Liam looks at Zayn up from the table with a hint of disappointment but it changes to a smile, “Okay, I will.”

  Zayn nods and pushes his phone into his pocket before rushing to the front doors. He pushes them open and looks through the glass opening and sees Liam packing his stuff up and hears the chime of the door’s bells. Zayn’s not sure if Liam’s trying to say something to Zayn through the glass, but he doesn’t have enough time to find out.

-

  Zayn gets through the rest of the day feeling a little guilty – actually a lot guilty – about just leaving Liam like that. He tries to ignore the thought in his last class. He keeps glancing at the clock in the back, practically begging time to go faster so he doesn’t have to sit through this history lecture any longer. Finally the clock hands move and signal 3:15 and the professor announces the homework and dismisses the class. Zayn sweeps all the papers and a single textbook from his desk and empties them into his bag.

  After making the short trip from his last class to his dorm, Zayn sighs in relief as his gets his keys from the bag pocket and opens his door and is greeted by his comfortable dorm. He sets his bag, as usual, on his desk and closes the door behind him.

  Not before washing himself up in the bathroom, Zayn lazily lies down on his bed, feeling tired out from the day. Closing his eyes, he contemplates whether he should get out a notebook, start his homework, or take a nap. He decides on the third one and right before he can get settled into his bed he hears the door bell.

  “Why _now_ ”, he groans out, surprised anybody’s at his dorm in the first place. He slowly gets up out of his bed and makes his way towards the door. The door bell rings again on the way ,”Ugh, I’m coming.”

  Zayn opens the door and his eyes open at the sight in front of him.

  “Um, hi,” Liam says shyly.

  “Oh, uh, Liam, hey what’s up,” Zayn says as he tries to fix the lazy look he has on and adjusts his glasses to his face and pats his hair down a bit ,”not that I mind you here or anything, but why are you here and how’d you know where my dorm is?”

  Liam looks at the ground a bit shyly, “I, uh, I didn’t really, I kind of guessed,” he says, obviously a bit embarrassed. Zayn gives him a confused look. “Well, I’ve seen you around campus skateboarding around - you’re brilliant at skateboarding by the way and look really , um, nice doing it too - and I’ve seen you come over here before so yeah.” Zayn smiles at the compliment and how awkward Liam looks in front of him, scratching the back of his head with one hand, the other hand – _oh god, those aren’t,_ Zayn thinks.

  Liam see’s Zayn’s eyes widen and continues his explaining. “Oh, so after you left in a rush out of the café today, you left these over there. I tried to tell you once I saw them, but you kind of already left,” he says while brandishing Zayn’s two notebooks in hand. He reaches out and hands them to Zayn apologetically.

  Zayn holds them in hand, a bit shocked; he’s never had these notebooks in anyone else’s possession - ever.Then he’s flooded by thoughts, “Did you, uh, look inside?” Zayn says, getting quieter with each word and almost closing his eyes in hope.

  “I – Yeah, I saw some drawings and writings and stuff. All really good! You’re good at this, you know.”

  _Shit,_ Zayn curses himself, now feeling very small and very, very embarrassed.

  “I kinda noticed that some looked like they might’ve been based on me,” Liam says more as a question than a statement, getting quieter with each word, ”Is that true?”

  Zayn groans at himself, it’s almost as if Liam’s teasing him about it. “Yeah, yeah it was about you Liam.” Zayn doesn’t know what else to say. He probably would’ve been blushing if he didn’t feel as embarrassed as he was, like getting caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar or something cheesy like that.

  Zayn’s about to set the notebooks on the desk to his right, when he’s suddenly stopped. Unsure what’s happening, Zayn feels a pair of lips pressing against his. He’s taken a back, but finds himself relaxing into the gesture, and moves his lips against Liam’s. The notebooks in his hand drop to the floor and Liam chuckles against Zayn’s lips and Zayn loves the feeling of it.  Zayn places his hand on the back of Liam’s head and leans in a bit more into the kiss. Liam’s lips are soft and encompassing, and they make Zayn feel like he could do this all day. Liam shifts Zayn so his back is pressed against the doorway. It’s an awkward kiss, considering they’re in the doorway of a dorm, but it feels nice to both boys anyway. They’re practically pressed against each other, moving in sync, when Liam pulls away.

  Zayn look’s at the image in front of him and almost smirks. Liam’s hair is messed up, lips swollen, and a crazy red blush on his face. Zayn would make some snide remark, but seeing the look on Liam’s face tells him he looks exactly the same.

  “Well, I’m glad to know the feelings mutual,” Zayn says the first to actually speak.

  Liam laughs and puts his hands in his pockets,”Yeah it is, you’re a good kisser by the way,” he says and runs a finger against his lips.

   Zayn feels his cheeks get even redder,”Ha, thanks, I can definitely say the same for you Mister Liam Payne.”

  “I like the way you say my name,” Liam says low, rough and cheekily. Zayn instantly knows he'd like to see and hear more of this type of Liam.

  “And I like you,” Zayn says bravely.

   They both get quiet, and Zayn almost feels like he shouldn’t have said it, when Liam smiles and puts a hand on the side of Zayn’s head against the wall. “Can I kiss you again?”

  Zayn doesn’t say anything; he just reaches and grabs Liam in for a kiss. This time it’s more gentle and meaningful, and just a little bit more perfect.

  After pulling away for the last time, the two boys just look at each other for a bit, inspecting each flawless detail.

  “I like you too Zayn, and I’d like to get to know you a bit better too, so next time, lets meet somewhere else besides that café and not have anywhere to rush off to, yeah?”, Liam gets out, even more breathless and soft.

  Zayn nods at Liam’s request ,”Yeah, that’d be nice.”

  “Until then?” Liam asks.

  “Until then,” Zayn confirms and gives a soft goodbye as Liam turns around and walks off from him. Zayn’s about to close the door when he decides against it, “Hey Liam! Do you wanna come in and hang out or watch a movie, or, I don’t know, something?”

  Liam turns around from walking down the hall and smiles and nods, before quickly walking back towards Zayn. Zayn guides Liam inside before closing the door. He asks Liam if he wants to watch a movie, and Liam happily agrees.

  Zayn’s room is set up, to where you can lay in the other empty bunk bed, and still be positioned in front of the TV. After quickly choosing Iron Man from Zayn’s small DVD collection, the two settle into the other bed. They sit comfortably together on the bed, shoulders touching as the beginning credits roll on. As if already decided, they continue with reciting quotes from the movie and Zayn can’t help but smile and blush hard with thoughts rushing around his head. He finds it just a little bit ironic that a boy he didn’t think could capture the heart of a small café audience, captured his in just a few days.

 

  

**Author's Note:**

> Wow ok, so this is the longest I've written even though it's barely anything and took place within a month of me writing when I could some how find the time. I really did try to have a small attempt of humor but I'm absolutely horrible at that, and even tried to add some sentences that would make your heart ache from x factor to where the boys are now. I'm not really sure if this is good or completely horrible so kudos and compliments would be nice sooo yeah, thanks for reading!!!
> 
>  
> 
> ((Also thanks to my friends, some who aren't even in to one direction, for putting up with my messages in the middle of the night to read over and grammar edit what I've written!!))


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